Here's the rub with friction—scientists don't really know how it works. Sure, humans have been harnessing the power of friction since rubbing two sticks together to build the first fire, but the physics of friction remains ...

Scientists led by Kristina Djinović-Carugo at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories (MFPL) of the University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna have elucidated the molecular structure and regulation ...

When a basically sturdy material becomes soft and spongy, one usually suspects that it has been damaged in some way. But this is not always the case, especially when it comes to complex fluids and biological ...

Along with copying and splitting DNA during division, cells must have a way to break safely into two viable daughter cells, a process called cytokinesis. But the molecular basis of how plant cells accomplish ...

(Phys.org) —Strong, thin fibers called microfilaments, or actin filaments, are present in the cytoplasm of almost every cell in the body. By growing and shrinking, actin filaments play a major role in cellular ...

A team of international researchers led by Professor Lim Chwee Teck, Principal Investigator, and Dr Hiroaki Hirata, Research Fellow, at the Mechanobiology Institute at the National University of Singapore ...

New research from scientists at the University of Kent has shown for the first time how the structures inside cells are regulated – a breakthrough that could have a major impact on cancer therapy development.

Actin is the most abundant protein in the body, and when you look more closely at its fundamental role in life, it's easy to see why. It is the basis of most movement in the body, and all cells and components ...

Living cells move; not just bacteria, but also cells in our own bodies. EPFL scientists have discovered a new relationship between the three-dimensional shape of the cell and its ability to migrate. The work has important ...

The tropical disease malaria is caused by the Plasmodium parasite. For its survival and propagation, Plasmodium requires a protein called actin. Scientists of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI ...

Researchers of the FOM Institute AMOLF and from Marseille and Paris have demonstrated that cells require a protein called septin to build a ring of actin filaments. This ring of proteins is crucial to drive ...

(Phys.org) —Actin "comets" are scaffolds of polymer that various bacteria and viruses construct within cells. Party-crashers, like Listeria or Shigella bacteria, are able to seed structures using special ...

The dysfunction of the cytoskeleton, a constituent element of the cell, is often associated with pathologies such as the onset of metastases. For this reason, it is a target of interest in numerous therapies. ...